Small Business Set-Up and Digital Project Management

This is a digital project management guide to help small businesses and has been provided by Jeanne Heeraman.

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With the way the business and media landscape has changed in the last few years, it’s little surprise that this has created and encouraged more entrepreneurial vision and start ups than we’ve ever seen. Now that everything is web based, with such a focus on social media, and with various grants and funds accessible to those with a plan, it means that it’s easier than ever to start your own business. So how can you make sure that yours is one of the success stories? Well, one thing that will help a great deal, particularly in the early stages, is Digital Project Management.

Get Qualified

So you’re an entrepreneur, you have an idea, and a business plan, but one thing you should consider is further study, in this case a course to become a Certified Associate in Project Management. This is basically an entry level course, so is designed to give you the fundamental understanding and the tools you need to effectively manage your own start up project, or if you decide that this is the career for you, long term, it’s recognised in the industry, and will stand you in good stead for employment in the sector.

The CAPM qualification covers everything from Project Life-Cycle and Organisation, to Project Risk Management. This is all so relevant to any start-up business, and will help you understand how important each step is, and how it all fits together as a whole. It will assist with everything from basic planning, to cost management, so the experience you gain with the qualification can ensure you’re well prepared for any eventuality, which is invaluable for a start up, and for any budding entrepreneur.

Utilising Your New Skill Set

Now you have the fundamentals of Digital Project Management, so now it’s time to use the skills to drive your business forward. Any start up business is stressful, no matter how meticulous your planning, or expansive your ideas, but fortunately, as you’ll learn in the CAPM course, much of Project Management is focussed around dealing with stress, and turning that energy in to productivity.

The first thing you need to do is plan the project. Map it out, and give yourself deadlines. Again you will be well equipped to do this, but there are so many resources out there which will help you visualise and clarify what you need to do, many of which are free to use. You can find a whole suite at Project Smart, which will not only offer alternative advice, but you can also purchase templates for Digital Project Management, which you can use to log progress, or record changes. This is how project managers handle pressure, by utilising strategic resource.

These tools and techniques help entrepreneurs of start up companies deal with the many stresses by ensuring they outline issues, use sensible time frames, and more importantly, produce a clear structure to work within. If you, as a fellow entrepreneur, follow the rules you set, you’ll limit the stress levels and cope with anything that’s necessary.

Managing Social Channels

Your business will constantly change, as does the world of project management and social media, and the techniques you use. There are many ways to keep up with new developments in this environment, and it’s particularly worthwhile to look at the APM YouTube channel, which regularly posts videos with new theories and resources which you can use to help with your start up, and your ongoing success. Videos can be invaluable and social media channel YouTube is a valuable resource for small businesses. There is nothing quite as engaging as watching an expert in any field talk about something which you can transfer directly in to your own business.

Digital Project Management and social media channelling will help shape the future of your start up, and will help prepare you for the unexpected, and how to deal with it. Also, keeping on top of this side of your business will help with every other facet, including the way you market your business. These resources, amongst others can give you tools and ideas on how best to market your company by helping you focus on what your aims are, and where your target market lies.

The CAPM is the foundation, and the understanding of how Digital Project Management works. After that, it’s up to you to implement this, and continuously use it. If it’s done right, it can help consolidate and secure the future of any start up company, and will give you, the entrepreneur, priceless skills which can be used anywhere.

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Jeanna Heeraman is a Digital Executive who works with the Telegraph Courses project management team. She is experienced in many industries and has strong account management, social media management and marketing skills.

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The SocialFish blog is the longest established industry social/digital blog for associations and nonprofits. We have been thinking and writing--and inviting guests to share their thoughts too--about the effect of the digital revolution on how we work since we started this blog in 2007. Needless to say, every author's opinions are their own.

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